Artistic Excellence

2016-2017 School Year

When Mason Middle School students pass by the hallway near the band room, they can't help but notice a beautiful piece of art that perfectly captures their school's essence. Cadette Girl Scout Troop 48045 members (current MHS freshmen Gillian Alexander, Lily Gieser, Lauren Mrozca, and Sophia Palermo) completed another phase of their Silver Award with the work of art.

It was a clean sweep for the William Mason High School Marching Band at their first competition of the season on October 1! At the 2016 Bands of America Toledo Regional, the band captured first place, along with Outstanding Music Performance, Visual Performance, and General Effect.

On October 21, 22, 28 and 29,Mason High School Theater presented Peter and the StarCatcher in Mason High School's Studio Theater.

Readers in Mason Intermediate fifth grade teachers Amanda Schreiber and Chelsea Wirtz’s classes are hanging out with famous authors utilizing Skype and and Google Hangout. The authors as part of the classes' Mock Newbery Book Club. The fifth grade students read 16 notable books that have been published in 2016, and have been tasked with deciding who should win the 2017 Newbery Medal.

's classes are participating in Camp Read-A-Lot: The 40 Book Challenge!

Mason Intermediate students​ in Shawna Bender and Heather Nagel's team don't just get to create news - they also get to learn directly from those in the business! On November 18, several WKRC Local 12 storytellers shared their insights with the fourth grader writers. Morning anchors Sheila Gray and John Lomax and producer Caitlin O'Neil answered students' questions about what it takes to put together a news show, and gave advice to students about exploring passions and tapping into their own curiosity.

Fridays in Western Row teachers Whitney Young and Corri Doenecke's classrooms are dubbed ‘Friendship Fridays’ to help students when social and emotional issues arise.

Mason High School sophomore Olivia Gittens won her first ever live music competition in February, and took home $500 plus the chance to perform twice as a soloist with the Paducah Symphony Orchestra on November 4.

At the 2016 Bands of America Grand National Championships November 10-12 in Indianapolis, the Mason High School Marching Band reached new program heights, finishing ​third place in the nation, and earning their highest BOA score ever with a 96.55. For the first time in program history, the band placed in the Class AAAA top three during Semi-Finals competition, and won a first-ever caption award for Outstanding Visual Performance. Mason also retained its title as the top-finishing Ohio band for the sixth straight year and was the only band from Ohio that advanced to Finals.

The National Scholastic Press Association awarded its highest All-American ranking to the Chronicle staff for work in the 2015-16 school year. The staff received marks of distinction in each area of critique: two marks for coverage and content, and one each for text, visuals, and presentation.

MECC first grade teachers Holly Burgess, Michelle Jarmon, BJ Smallwood, and Erin Smith came up with the concept of the Buddy Bench ​when discussing just how important it is to teach ​children ​social skills that will last a lifetime.

“A snowball of positive energy that gained intensity from beginning to end!” That’s how Mason High School Band Director Micah Ewing described the Wind Symphony’s performance at the prestigious Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Festival on December 15, 2016.

Mason High School junior Megan Ledford was selected for the 2017 High School Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall. Ledford performed Soprano 2 with the Carnegie Hall High School Honors Concert Choir on February 5 in New York City.

On January 27, 28, and February 3, 4, Mason High School Theater presented Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in the school’s Studio Theater.

Three Mason High School students have advanced to the semifinals of the Cincinnati Arts Association’s Overture Awards Competition, a program that recognizes, encourages and rewards excellence in the arts among Greater Cincinnati students in grades 9-12. The Overture Awards are the region's largest solo arts competition. MHS semifinalists are junior Alyssa Manguiat (Dance), senior Jessica Sommerville (Creative Writing), and senior Kayla Stroud (Theatre).

Mason High School visual art students put on an outstanding performance in this year’s Regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Twenty-seven MHS students won a grand total of 38 awards in this year’s competition. Four of Mason’s student artists were awarded a total of five Gold Keys in their individual categories. Winners of the Gold Key, amounting to top honors in a particular art category, include: Lauren Fournier, Emma Morrissey, Tasha Norris, Jenny Wan.

Mason High School and Mason Middle School students had outstanding performances in this year’s Regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Fourteen MHS and MMS students won a grand total of 30 awards in this year’s competition.

Three of Mason’s student writers were awarded a total of six Gold Keys in their individual categories. Winners of the Gold Key, amounting to top honors in a particular writing category, include: Juliana Discher, Ashton Nichols, and Gayatri Rajan.

Mason High School senior Lauren Fournier's work Blue was chosen to be displayed in the 47th annual Ohio Governor's Youth Art Exhibition, which opens at the James A. Rhodes State Office Tower in Columbus from April until the end of May.

​Approximately 80 Ohio elementary schools and more than 7,500 students participated in the 19th annual Imagine Engineering program, and two Western Row Elementary students took top honors. WR second grader Liza Amalraj placed second in the statewide contest and received a big screen microscope and a $20 gift card from the local chapter. Another WR second grader, Riya Dulal, came in third and received a MathShark skill-building game and calculator, and a $20 gift card also from the local chapter.

Students at Western Row are competing in a Tournament of Books by voting for their favorite book of the 2016-2017 school year. The committee, also known as WR Media Center Specialist Sil Bobinski, selected eight books from all the books read to students throughout the year. Books were paired up for Round 1, similar to the NCAA Basketball Tournament. In the first round, students voted for four of their favorite books.

Two Mason High School students spent their spring break in New York City performing at the prestigious Carnegie Hall on Sunday, March 26. MHS junior Natasha Saputra and sophomore Faith Min are both pianists who were invited after winning first and second place at the International Competition of Romantic Music. This was Saputra's seventh performance at Carnegie Hall, and was Min's debut.

Mason High School Performing Arts presented The Drowsy Chaperone on April 27, 28, 29, and 30 in the MHS Auditorium.

On Tuesday, May 2, Mason City Schools hosted a Personal Learning Days Showcase in the Mason High School Large Commons. The Showcase will feature more than 30 Mason Early Childhood Center, Western Row Elementary, Mason Intermediate School, Mason Middle School and Mason High School students who used their personal learning days in extraordinary ways and maximized their learning experiences.

On April 25, the Mason City School Board unanimously approved Superintendent Gail Kist-Kline’s recommendation to hire Johnnie B. Green as the new Mason High School Marching Band Director.

Congratulations to Mason Middle School Band Director Zach Hinson who received the 2017 ​American School Band Directors Association (ASBDA) Foundation's Outstanding Potential Award for Young Directors.

Mason Early Childhood Center kindergartners in Soroya Smith's AM Penguin classroom created an activist mural to celebrate and value the differences, while spreading kindness.

Several Mason City Schools students' masterpieces were recently designated a part of the Mason Centralart collection that will be displayed throughout the 2017-2018 school year. Superintendent Dr. Gail Kist-Kline invited each artist and his or her family to a special reception in the students’ honor on May 10.

Mason High School Theater’s production of Peter and the Starcatcher garnered 14 nominations for excellence awards from the Greater Cincinnati Cappies - the critics and awards program for high school theater - at the Aronoff Center on May 26. Mason students also gave an outstanding performance of the opening scene from Peter and the Starcatcher before the enthused crowd.On June 13, the Mason City School Board unanimously approved Superintendent Gail Kist-Kline’s recommendation to hire Edward F. Protzman as the new Mason High School Director of Concert Bands.

Mason High School senior Lauren Fournier's work Blue was chosen to be displayed in the 47th annual Ohio Governor's Youth Art Exhibition, which opens at the James A. Rhodes State Office Tower in Columbus from April until the end of May.

Mason High School senior Lauren Fournier's work Blue was chosen to be displayed in the 47th annual Ohio Governor's Youth Art Exhibition, which opens at the James A. Rhodes State Office Tower in Columbus from April until the end of May.

​Approximately 80 Ohio elementary schools and more than 7,500 students participated in the 19th annual Imagine Engineering program, and two Western Row Elementary students took top honors.

WR second grader Liza Amalraj placed second in the statewide contest and received a big screen microscope and a $20 gift card from the local chapter. Another WR second grader, Riya Dulal, came in third and received a MathShark skill-building game and calculator, and a $20 gift card also from the local chapter.

Students at Western Row are competing in a Tournament of Books by voting for their favorite book of the 2016-2017 school year.

The committee, also known as WR Media Center Specialist Sil Bobinski, selected eight books from all the books read to students throughout the year. Books were paired up for Round 1, similar to the NCAA Basketball Tournament. In the first round, students voted for four of their favorite books.